When it?s time to replace a carpet, much of the decision-making process naturally focuses on the carpet itself. There?s plenty to consider, from choosing the ideal type of fiber to deciding which color works best in the home. But although you?ll never see the carpet pad, choosing the right one is just as important as selecting the carpet itself. Ahead of your scheduled carpet installation, consider the following factors to determine if you?ve chosen the wrong pad.

Understanding Carpet Pads

Without a carpet pad, your carpet won?t last nearly as long. The pad provides a cushioning layer that makes the carpet more comfortable, and protects it from damaging friction. Padding increases the R-value of the carpet, which means your home will be more energy-efficient. Padding can even support your ability to clean your carpet thoroughly, as it allows the vacuum to slightly elevate the carpet and suck up more dirt from deep beneath the surface.

Selecting a Density

The average home should use carpet pads with density ratings between six and eight pounds. Lower densities are ideal for commercial buildings and apartments. The higher the density is, the longer your carpet is likely to last.

Choosing a Thickness

The thickness you choose most often depends on the carpet manufacturer?s requirements. Choosing the wrong thickness may void your warranty. If the pad is too thin, the carpet won?t last as long. But if it?s too thick, the carpet can be susceptible to folds and wrinkles. Most carpet manufacturers require a pad with a thickness of 7/16?.

Picking a Type

There are only a few types of carpet pads to choose from. Foam urethane or polyurethane padding is common. Polyurethane will last longer than urethane, especially in high traffic areas. If your carpeting is looped or has a tight weave, synthetic materials may be best. Rebond carpet padding is ideal for homeowners who want durability combined with eco-friendliness.

The Revive collection by Mannington is an award-winning group of luxury sheet vinyl designs. Once you get this vinyl flooring installed, you can look forward to incredibly rugged floors that showcase your style personality. See some of these amazing patterns by watching this video or consulting a flooring contractor.

Be boldly fashionable with the filigree pewter or filigree iron pattern for your floors, or opt for the deco pattern in tasteful brick, wrought iron, or steel. The Revive collection also includes designs that closely mimic the look of real marble, limestone, stucco, and quartzite with granite.

Indoor allergens can cause significant suffering in people asthma and allergies. Although carpeting once got a bad rap for increasing the amount of indoor allergens, the opposite is actually true, since carpeting traps allergens outside of the breathing zone. Thanks to advances in technology, Stainmaster now offers a line that will have every allergy sufferer calling for carpet installation.

Watch this video to learn more about the Stainmaster LiveWell carpet line, which includes a special material that reduces the bonding of allergens to materials. Customers who have this kind of carpet installation can instantly breathe easier.

You walk on them every day, but do you know how your carpets were made? The manufacturing process is complex, as you?ll discover when you watch this featured video. Before carpet installers get to work in your home, your new carpets started life as bales of nylon or polyester fibers.

After the fibers are blended and carded into bands of fibers, they?re fed into a drawing frame. The drawing frame combines multiple fibers to make thread, which is then wound in spools. After being heat-set, the spools go to the tufting department to be made into carpets.

If you love your dog, but you also love hardwood flooring, you don?t have to choose. There is a way for your dog and your flooring to co-exist peacefully, without simply accepting scuffed-up surfaces. Here is how to keep your wood in top condition after your hardwood floor installation.

Start by ensuring you keep your dog?s nails trimmed. Shorter nails will cause less damage to hardwood surfaces. You may also want to save games of fetch for outside so that your dog isn?t sliding across the wood floor. Make sure that the surface has a polyurethane seal during your hardwood floor installation, which will help to protect the surface. When wood scratches appear, fix them with a stain pen or use a wood filler for deeper scratches. If your dog has an accident, clean it up promptly, so it can?t sink into lower levels.